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VOL. XII NO. 12 APRIL 26, 2013

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C O N T E N T S

Why isnt thatStealing too?Eli: Why is there a separate law against using dishonest

weights? Thats stealing. I know I cant steal, so using dishon-

est weights is included in that law against stealing. Why does

the Torah have an additional law about these weights?

Rabbi: These weights involve a second corruption. A single

act of stealing doesn't mean its a way of life. But someone

who makes such weights indicates a philosophy of life, no

single act of greed. A person who keeps these weights is

worse than a crook.

This explains why Deuteronomy doesnt prohibit the u

of these false weights as we find in Leviticus. In Deut

onomy, we are prohibited to simply have them in

pockets or homes. Possession indicates a philosophy.

e Jewsihtimes is

blished every Fridayd delivered by email.bscriptions are FREE.subscribe, send any

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es may be reprinted without consent of theshTimes or the authors, provided the content

altered, and credits are given.

eekly Journal on Jewish Thought

3Letters RABBI MOSHE BEN-CHAIM

Why is there a law of unjust weights;laws of stealing suffice? We explore

Ibn Ezras masterful insights into

Koheles on psychology.

4Worse than MurderRABBI MOSHE BEN-CHAIM

Maimonides opens our eyes to the

Torahs clues and great insights into

sin, Lashon Hara and what consti-

tutes our greatest deviation.

9 Lashon Hara RABBI MOSHE BEN-CHAIM

We examine the Torahs verses anda number of sources that reveal

Lashon Haras many facets and the

flaws in human nature.

12Limits of Education RABBI BERNIE FOX

Rabbi Fox addresses Lashon Hara

and Jewish educational issues via a

case and point approach.

14Mercy on Creation RABBI REUVEN MANN

Rabbi Mann share his insightsthe Parsha, discussing Gods m

and the reason for grouping

verses.

18Evil Speech JESSIE FISCHBEIN

Mrs. Fischbein opens our eye

novel insights about our i

workings when we engage La

Hara.

LETTERS

WWW.MESORA.ORG/JEWISHTIMES APR. 26, 2013 |

(continued on page 15)

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4 | WWW.MESORA.ORG/JEWISHTIMES APR. 26, 2013

(continued on next p

A friend suggested we study Maimonides'

writings on Lashon Hara found in Pirkei Avos

1:17. Maimonides words (quoting the Tosefta

and Talmud Arachin 15a) were a preciousfind. The Tosefta says, For 3 sins, man is

punished in this world and loses his afterlife:

for idolatry, sexual prohibitions, and murder;

and Lashon Hara is equivalent to them all.

Maimonides then quotes Arachin that says each of

3 cardinal sins is described in Torah verses using

word "great" (gadol). Regarding idolatry, Moses said

the Jews' Golden Calf sin,"The people sinned a great(Exod. 32:31)". Regarding sexual prohibitions, Joserefused to sleep with Potiphar's wife saying, "How ca

commit this great evil (Gen. 39:9)?" And regardmurder, Cain said of God's punishment of banishment

killing his brother Abel, "My sin is greater than I can b(Gen. 4:13)."But regarding Lashon Hara, the verse s"Mouths that speak greatnesses (Psalms 12:4),"usingplural "greatnesses", and not merely using the w

"great" in the singular as the 3 sins above. This

understood to indicate that Lashon Hara incorporates

3 sins, i.e., it includes all the "greatnesses" of the

cardinal sins.

worse

than murder

a

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To clarify, the word "great" here refers to"severe." Moses, Joseph and Cain all viewedthe sins as severe, and not minor infractions.

But what is this message; in what mannerare these 3 sins "severe" when compared toall others? It is amazing that the Torah is soprecise, and so generous with its clues.Maimonides draws our attention to the factthat Torah goes out of its way to signal us toa pattern of the repeating word "great" inconnection with these 3 sins. Then, it goesone further, and uses the word great in theplural "greatnesses" to teach that LashonHara incorporates all the evils found inidolatry, sexual prohibitions and murder. Inother words, God wrote his Torah throughHis Prophets in a style that hints at deeperideas. For this alone we must feel a sense ofappreciation for the Creator's method ofteaching us.

So what is the severity in the 3 sins, notfound in other sins? And how is LashonHara equivalent to these three sins?

An example is useful here. In terms ofharming one's self, not harming others,

which sin is more severe: being overly-jealous, or never giving charity? Both are

extremes. I would say the latter is worse.Why? It is because one is corrupted in thearea of justice, which is far more significantof moral decay than one's feelings of envy.My acts of justice reflect a more primarynature in man than envy.

What makes one attitude or moral moresignificant than others? This depends on it'scentrality to our being. As humans, we havemajor and minor components. We have amultitude of attitudes and emotions: envy,sorrow, pity, remorse, humor, delight,revenge, apathy, ambition, the list goes on. Ifwe are deviant in any of these feelings or

attitudes, it is not as corrupt as being deviantin major components of ourselves. I refer towhat psychologists and our great Rabbisagree are our 3 major components: 1) thesoul (intelligence), 2) instinctual drives, and3) the ego. The Rabbis call these neshama,nefesh and ruach respectively. Freud calledthem the superego, the id, and the ego. (SeeIbn Ezra on Koheles 7:3 for a marvelousanalysis, also included in this week'sJewishtimes Letters section.)

Now, if we are deviant in our primarycomponents, then as "man and woman" weare more corrupt, than if we deviate in minoremotions. This is understood. Being a sloppydresser is not as bad as being crooked inbusiness due to ego emotions. For our styleis not central to our definition as a human,whereas ego is a primary component. If wecorrupt our egos, that which is more centralin ourselves is corrupt, so the sin is worse.Similarly, the sicker person is one with liverdisease, not one with a wart. We can nowanswer what makes these 3 sins so severe.

(continued on page 7)

When man is corrupt in his

primary faculties, his sin is

more severe. Idolatry, sexual

violations and murder are

corruptions of our 3 major

faculties: the soul, theinstincts and the ego,

respectively.

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Idolatry occurs when man's grip on realityis lost. He accepts his imagination andfantasy as real. Thus, he bows and prays tostone idols. He has erred in the mostimportant area: what God is. His soul isseverely damaged, unlike one who thinks

blue is red. In both cases, one maintains afalsehood. But the greater the falsehood, themore corrupt the person.

One who cannot control his sexual desireand sleeps with a married woman hascorrupted his instinctual makeup. If thismakeup is not under his control, he lives likean animal and forfeits his purpose to live asan intelligent being. And one who murdersdoes so, as he views another person'sexistence as a threat to his ego. In his world,he feels he set things "right" when the threatis no longer alive.

In all three, the person has distanced

himself from God; either through corrupt soulas he thinks God is something else; throughoverindulgence in lusts which removes himfrom a life as an intelligent being, or placinghimself not God as the center of theuniverse by murdering others. This explainswhy these three sinners are punished here,and forfeit the afterlife. All 3 sinners havedeviated severely (gadol) from the path Godset for mankind. Their lives no longer havevalue. Their souls are destroyed, unless theyrepent. This is why the word "great" isreserved for application to these 3 sins, for itis these alone, wherein man deviates in hismajor components.

How is Lashon Hara equivalent to these 3?

We must appreciate that speech is a verygratifying tool; we feel actual satisfactionthrough our words. This makes it akin tosexual prohibition, for it too aims at satisfac-tion of an instinctual drive.

When speaking Lashon Hara, we are

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intent on character assassination. We don'twish to pay the consequence of a prisonterm for murder, so we "kill" the person wehate through speech. This is how it is akin tomurder. We view another person asworthless, for they threaten our ego. Our

concept of ourself in this case is the "centerof reality," and this obscures God's position.

Lashon Hara is also akin to idolatry, as wesaid, one fabricates a "setting it straight"scenario in his psyche when he deridesanother. In his fantasies he feels that throughLashon Hara, he got even. But in fact,nothing transpired at all, just as nothing istrue about the belief in idols hearing one'sprayers. In Lashon Hara and idolatry, oneaccepts imagination as reality.

What's worse, is that Lashon Hara eventu-ally makes a person deny God, as King Davidsaid, "They say, 'We will grow mighty with

our tongues; our lips are with us, who canrule us (Psalms 12:5)'!" One feels throughspeech, he attained power over reality; hehas created statements heard by others andin his fantasy, he equates his words with truereality. Their is an invincible feeling sensedby one who speaks. This is the messageKing David revealed to us.

Great sins are where we deviate from Godin the most severe degree. This occurs whena major component of our beings is sinful.Our major components of soul, instincts andego are the focus in the big 3 sins, and inLashon Hara.

God communicated His knowledge to theProphets. He hinted to subtle clues in manymanners. And in our case He hinted byreserving the use of the word "great" to 3sins, and Lashon Hara. The Rabbis picked upon this repetition, and taught us God's intentas learned from His prophets.

Fortunate are we who have the Torah.

God hinted to us...He

repeated the word great

regarding the 3 sins, and

Lashon Hara. The Rabbis

picked up on this repetition,

and taught us Gods intent aslearned from His prophets.

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From the ease of violation to theprofound words of our Rabbis and Sagesaddressing our human nature, theres muchto discuss regarding the prohibition andappeal of Lashon Hara. What is so wrong

with Lashon Hara? What is the appeal?Why does Maimonides say it equates tosexual immorality, idolatry and murder:

three sins causing punishment here, and theloss of Olam Haba? As God structured alllaws, there must be great insight; farsurpassing our simple understanding ofdegrading others. Hopefully the sourcesquoted herein will sensitize us to thedamage we cause others, and ourselves.

The Torah Prohibition

A Rabbi once taught that the source for

any Torah law is derived from the FiveBooks the Chumash. Prophets and

Writings may elaborate that law, but theseother books cannot add a new law to the613.

Leviticus 19:16 says, Do not go as atalebearer in your people, and do not stand

by the blood of your friend, I am God. InHilchos Dayos 7:1 Maimonides explains

why the talebearer is placed in the sameverse as a murderer: from the tales we

spread, we can cause many deathMaimonides cites the example of Doeg tEdomite whose words although nnegative in themselves caused tmurders of many innocents. We may al

add that slander is an act of assassinatiocharacter assassination. When we slandeon some level we wish the demise of tpersonality we attack. King Solomon saone has thrown arrows at another.

Maimonides states that this case of Dois an example of the head category, Richluss. Richiluss is the act transferriprivate information from one to anothethat which is not yet public knowledge. ThRabbis argue whether this informatiomust be negative, or as Maimonidteaches, even neutral information. But agree that the violation is in spreadin

gossip. Maimonides already explained whis so negative about this: many can die. Bis there something negative lurking insi

the one who spreads gossip, inside thinstigator? Lets first list the other thrsubcategories of Richiluss. And they asubcategories, since they are only quantittively different from Richiluss.

Richiluss is spreading information, bthe manner in which we do so may comunder one of the three other heading


LASHONHARA

Rabbi Moshe Ben-Chaim

Whatdo theSources

Reveal?

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(continued on next page)

Maimonides then formulates the secondcategory:

There is yet another sin much greaterthan this, in this category, and it is calledLashon Hara. It is the act of speaking ofthe negative aspects of ones friend, even

though he speaks the truth.Maimonides third category is MotzeiShame Ra, or character assassination.This refers to one who spreads lies aboutothers. But quite interesting is

Maimonides fourth and final category,Bal Lashon Hara, or the a frequenter ofLashon Hara. Why is this its owncategory? Maimonides defines this infrac-tion:

One who sits and recites matters aboutanother, that his forefathers were such and

such people, and that he heard certain matters

concerning him, and all he says are matters ofderision. On this [case] does the Torah say,

God should cut off all those with smooth lips,tongues that speak grandiose matters

(Psalms 12:4).

Lets start to understand Lashon Hara

King David on Lashon Hara

God should cut off all those with smoothlips, tongues that speak grandiose matters(Psalms 12:4).

This verse in Psalms commences with

God. Why is this so? Many verses in theTorah that cite evildoers merely addressthe evil; God is not mentioned in the

verse. God is included here since manwishes self-aggrandizement. Our egos arevery powerful, always seeking satisfac-tion. And when we encounter someone

we estimate (correctly or not) is superiorto ourselves, our egos sense a threat andgo into defense modeunless we have

come to learn that such competition isagainst the goals of the Torah. Therefore,King David carefully wrote, God shouldcut off all those with smooth lips, tongues

that speak grandiose matters. God ismentioned in purposeful contrast to thesinful objective of the talebearer, whomKing David says wishes to speak grandi-ose matters. The speaker is attempting toelevate himself. Therefore, King Davidpits God against man in this verse tohighlight the issue. Man should not seekcompetitive advantage, but rather, heshould be cognizant God, who is superior

to you. Contemplating this, man willhopefully humble himself. The next versein Psalms continues this theme:

That they say, With our tongues we shall

become powerful; our lips are with us, whowill rule over us!

Maimonides states that these peopledeny God, as they say, Who will rule over

us! What additional aspects of the sin arehighlighted in this verse?

The ego senses that with the power ofspeech, we may project a grandiose imageof ourselves: we can manipulate howothers see realityhow we see reality. Wecan cause much damage. That is the firstlesson of with our tongues we will

become powerful.Then they say something strange, our

lips are with us... This unveils a deep

emotion. Man feels that what is in hiscontrol, is his to do with as he pleases.

Another aspect of the ego is therebyunveiled: total domination. The egorejects opposition and restraint.

I once witnessed a lecturer in his fiftiesgo into an intolerant, screaming frenzy

when someone much younger thanhimself corrected him during his class.Egomaniacs do not seek truth, but rather,

a platform for projecting their great-ness. The last words embody their goal,Who will rule over us! That is not aquestion. They are saying, no one will

rule over us! Lashon Hara seeksunrivaled expression, and pity the person

who stands in opposition. We must realizethis unruly part of human nature. Sin

wears many masks: mistake, crooked-ness, and wantonness. This last one iscalled peshah, and what we addresshere: the unruly tendency.

Why So Many Types?

Why must a person ridicule others?This stems from ones own insecurities.If man realizes that his lifes goal is to

study God and His creations, and notcompete, he would not need to reduce

others to elevate himself. His insecurityis generated from allowing his socialstatus to dominate all concerns. There-fore, the gossiper is an insecure person.The gossiper also unloads his or hernews on others due to this insecurity,and seeks out others who might side withthem.

But we can violate gossip in four ways.Richiluss is when we contribute todefaming others, although we do notnecessarily utter negative words, like thecase of Doeg above. We are instigators.But our corruption is present. We are

merely distributors of what we hear.

Lashon Hara is when we actually talknegatively, originating the content andciting truths. And Motzei Sham Ra is

when we lie.But what is the difference between

Lashon Hara, and Bal Lashon Hara afrequent speaker of Lashon Hara?Maimonides tells us that the Bal LashonHara talks about the persons forefa-thers. That seems quite odd. What doesthis have to do with the slanderersattempt to destroy another person?

The Bal Lashon Hara is clever. Hedoesnt mean to merely tarnish ones

reputation; he wants to throw a knockoutblow. This is a different type of vicious-ness. The other party must be removed.

And he accomplishes this by saying thathis very inception was evil: Look at

who his parents were! With such a

statement, he gives the listeners nochance to view him in a good light. Hecame from bad blood as they say. He isessentially no good. The Bal LashonHara most closely approximates the actof murder, as he seeks to utterly destroyanother human being.

Viciousness

We noted that viciousness is part of thesin. Talmud Archin 15b cites a metaphor:

In the future, all beasts will approachthe snake and ask, The lion tramples andeats, the wolf tears and eatsof what

benefit then is there to you snake, thatyou bite, and do not eat? The snake willreply, And of what benefit is there toman who speaks evil?

A Rabbi once lectured on thismetaphor. He taught, just as the snakehas no motive in biting and does so by

nature alone, so too, man is vicious bynature. There is no need for any ulteriormotive. Just as the snake bites merely toafflict, mans nature is to be vicious. Inthat Talmudic portion, God metaphori-cally says:

What more can I do to prevent LashonHara? I created the limbs upright, butthe tongue lying down [to keep itdormant]. All limbs are external, but the

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tongue is inside (to restrain it). I createdaround the tongue, a wall of bones [teeth]and a wall of flesh [lips] [to halt LashonHara].

The Rabbi said this teaches that speak-ing Lashon Hara is practically unavoid-able, as if God did all He can do, with no

success. Of course, since we receive greatpunishment for Lashon Hara, we are toblame. But this portion has one message:Lashon Hara caters to strong impulses.Therefore, we must be stronger, and moreknowledgeable so as to fight it.

Most Severe

Why does Maimonides say LashonHara equates to sexual immorality,idolatry and murder: three sins causingpunishment here, and the loss of OlamHaba? What is murder? It is the attempt

to eliminate another from ones reality.Lashon Hara does the same; one reducesanother with speech. This explains the

phrase "character assassination." Sexualimmorality is mans unbridled instinctualexpression. Lashon Hara too is man fullyexpressing his instinctual drives of aggres-sion, ego. But how is Lashon Hara akin toidolatry?

What is idolatry? It is not the mere

prostration to statues. Idolatry is anattempt to twist reality and conform it tohow we wish it to be. Although an idolaternever sees a stone god perform acts, hebelieves that it can. He distorts reality. Hedenies what natural law indicates, andfollows imagination. When one speaksLashon Hara, he uses speech to deludehimself. In reality, John is a great guy, andhelps others genuinely. But in my worldhe has surpassed me, I feel threatenedsince I am competitive. I need to correct

this. I assume my speech has a reductivequality on Johns value. So I say things

that are true about him, but only to thosewho will resent him too. His downfall issoon at hand. I now feel the world is good

again. But this assessment of John, thathis place in the universe is now reduced, isall in my imaginationjust like idolatry.

Summary

We live in a fantasy world; we desire to

hurt others who do not deserve it, and weoutlet base emotions without thinking.We reject Gods plan to abandon pettyissues and strive towards perfection.Lashon Hara also seems to go unnoticed;as we speak so much, and we deny we didanything wrong with those few wordsabout John. Because of its subtleties, wemust be all the more sensitive to ourmotives when we talk. We can correct ourtongues, but only after we correct ourhearts. And the competitive emotion thatdrives us to seek fame and honor is at theroot of this sin. The Torah teaches the

proper attitude: And the man Moses wasexceedingly humble from all men that areon face of the Earth (Num. 12:3).

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Tzaraas is an affliction of the skin generallycharacterized by the appearance of a bright whitediscoloration. Contraction of tzaraas renders aperson tamey - impure. The degree of impuritythat is ascribed to the person depends upon theseverity of the disease. In its most intensemanifestation, the afflicted person is banishedfrom the community until the conditionsubsides.

The Torah explains that tzaraas is not

contracted as a result of a virus or bacterialinfection. It is a consequence of moral andethical failures. Primary among those failings is

lashon hara speaking negatively of others even if the negative characterization is accurateand truthful.

Maimonides explains that lashon hara hasthree victims: the person who is vilified, thespeaker who disparages another, and the one

who listens to the defamation. He adds that thelistener is harmed the most. Now, it seems thatMaimonides is speaking on a practical level. Ona practical level, all of the parties in the dynamicare damaged by lashon hara.

It is obvious that the vilified party has beenharmed. His reputation has been attacked anddamaged. But it is worthwhile to consider thedamage caused to the other two parties in thedynamic the speaker and listener. We willcome back to this issue in a few minutes.

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average, less than 50% of the parents reported

that they are enthusiastic supporters, likelyrecommend their school to others. The suralso suggests that, on average, 15% can expected to discourage others from enrolltheir children.

An even more interesting aspect of the suris what it suggests about the core cause of tlack of enthusiasm or dissatisfaction. The surresults suggest that the core, dominant deternant of parent enthusiasm or dissatisfactiontheir appraisal of the schools effectivenesspromoting Jewish development. This sugge

that the most important reason more than 5of parents are less than enthusiastic about thchildren's school is that they feel it has nprovided impactful and inspiring Jewish edution.

I think that our parents have good reason toalarmed and concerned. They are observ

behaviors and attitudes that give them reasonwonder whether their children will remcommitted to observance and Jewish life. Thare looking to their schools to respond to thconcerns and to rescue their children.

I do not know all of the specific behaviors tconcern parents but I can provide one exampIn recent years much attention has been giventhe phenomenon of Half-Shabbos. HaShabbos is a term used to describe the practiceobserving Shabbos with the exception of usone's mobile phone. Apparently, nationallygrowing number of otherwise observant Jewteens and pre-teens will not or cannot re

texting or calling friends on Shabbos.I agree with the parents with whom I ha

discussed this issue. Our schools must respoto this development. We must better commu

cate to our students the importance of Shabbobservance. We must more effectively explainthem why Half-Shabbos is not good enouOur job as educators is to be aware of emergtrends among our students. We must undstand their attitudes and be adaptive in manner in which we teach, communicate, a

work with our young people.We will continue to improve and increase

effectiveness of our schools. But I stronsuspect that our schools are fundamentill-suited to succeed in the task that they h

been assigned. We expect our schoolsJewishly educate and inspire our young peopl

think that for our schools to succeed they nhelp. We need broader participation in process of education and inspiration.

Let me explain. One article discussHalf-Shabbos included a wealth of material frinterviews with young people. As you miexpect, some justified their behavior by miniming it or disputing the Shabbos violatiHowever, others did not deny that their usetheir digital devices violated Shabbos. Th

young people merely observed that no one

Rabbi Bernie Fox


THE LIMITS

OF JEWISHEDUCATION

Lashon Hara

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completely observant. Their parents and many otheradults around them compromise in their observance.These young people asserted that they only differ from

the adults in where they compromise.One of the parents with whom I work expressed the

issue to me as follows: our children are watching us.They are observing you and me all of us. We are allrole models. Their observations of the adults aroundthem inform their conclusions regarding observanceand contribute to shaping their attitudes towards Torah.

Okay, so we can all pitch-in to inspire our children bymodeling the values and behaviors that we hope tonurture. What else can do?

Surrounding the First World War, America experi-enced a tremendous wave of Jewish immigration fromEurope. These immigrant families had a troublingexperience. Many succeeded in transplanting their

Torah observance to this new continent and society.However, far fewer succeeded in transmitting theircommitment to their children.

Rav Moshe Feinstein Zt"l suggested that this lostgeneration of Jews was not compromised because oftheir parents' lack of commitment. These parents madeheroic sacrifices to be observant. This generation was

lost because of the "k'vetch". The mother put koshermeat on the table but kvetched over the expense. Thefather did not work on Shabbos but he bemoaned thelost income. The message communicated to thechildren was not that observance is worthy of thegreatest sacrifice. It was that there is no joy in obser-

vance. It is only an experience of sacrifice.

If we are to inspire our children, it is not enough toprovide them with a Jewish education. We mustcommunicate to them our joy and our love for thateducation and for living Jewishly. If our conversation isonly about the tuition crisis, the trials and tribulations ofcar pool, the imposition of attending the schoolsfundraisers, and the kvetch, then what message are wecommunicating? If we aspire for our children to find joyin their Jewish experience in and out of school, then wemust express our joy.

Finally, I will share with you an insight from a parentthat is relevant to both inspiring our children and to theteaching from Maimonides with which I opened. It is asad story. I have heard it too many times. But it

deserves to be told.A mother came to me and bemoaned her children's

abandonment of observance. She and her husband hadmade tremendous sacrifices to provide their children

with the finest Jewish education available. The childrenattended day school from kindergarten through middleschool and then continued on to yeshiva high school.

After high school, all of her children studied in Israel.But none remained observant.

But then she made the most remarkable and difficult

comment. She said to me that to a great extent she andher husband are responsible for her children's abandon-ment of observance. She explained, that she and herhusband constantly bemoaned the shortcomings oftheir synagogue. They were consistently critical of theirOrthodox community and its members. They focusedon all of the shortcoming that they observed. She saidher children are good listeners. They have no desire to

be part of the deeply flawed faith-community describedby their parents.

So who is harmed by lashon hara? The victim canrecover. The speaker reinforces his own negativity buthis malignant perspective was in place even before he

expressed it in words. But the listener does not evenappreciate that he has been poisoned. His outlook onthe world and on his community has been tainted andcorrupted though the noxious affect of these reports.

He is an innocent whose outlook is poisoned by thespeaker.

The bottom line is that we shape the perspectives ofothers through the messages that we communicate tothem. As the mother, whose story I just describedobserved, this is especially true regarding the messagesthat we transmit to our children.

If our children are to be inspired by the education weprovide, then they must believe in their schools' capacityto inspire. Whether they have this faith in their schools

will be determined by their experiences but also by themessages that we communicate as parents and commu-nity members.

If school, parents, and community cannot see oneanother as partners in the enterprise of Torah educa-tion, then it will only be left for us to apportion the

blame for a lost generation. If we can engage oneanother as partners, then I am confident we will inspireour young people to be committed, enthusiastic and G-dfearing young men and women.

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This weeks Parsha, Emor, continues to

elucidate the major theme of the Book of

Vayikra, the sacrificial service and the

special laws that pertain to the Kohanim who,

alone, were authorized to perform it. Thus

the sedra details the many flaws and

blemishes which would invalidate sacrifices.

The Kohain, also, must be in the most

appropriate state, physically and emotionally.

He is not permitted to come in contact with a

corpse as the encounter with death could

make him sad or depressed. An exception is

made for his seven closest relatives as the

respect for ones family overrides the

prohibition. However, the Kohen Gadol (chief

Kohen) was not permitted to become impure

even for his closest kin. The only exception is

that of a meit mitzvah ie. an abandonedcorpse who had no relatives that were under

the obligation to bury him. The magnitude of

the chesed involved in providing for the burial

of such a person is so great that it overrides

the severe injunction against the Kohen

Gadols relinquishing his state of ritual purity.

Two important lessons can be learned from

this. First of all, the very high standard of

respect we must display toward others is not

relaxed when they are deceased. Respect

for the dead which focuses around a speedy

and dignified burial is a major tenet of

Judaism. It is not that the corpse has anyintrinsic importance. The essence of man

lies in the Divine soul which signifies that

man was created in His Image. Disrespect

for the body expresses disdain for the soul

which was connected to it and indirectly to

the Creator who fashioned it. We also see

the supreme importance that the Torah

assigns to chesed. No ritual requirement

ranks in importance with the service

performed by the Kohen Gadol. Yet, he must

incur ritual impurity to personally attend to

the internment of a complete stranger who isof such social insignificance that he has

neither relative nor friend to tend to him. The

compassion one displays toward the most

lowly and downtrodden people, with whom

he has no personal relationship is the most

precious because it is not prompted by any

selfish emotion. It is, rather, the purest

expression of respect for the Divine image

which inheres in man.

A major theme of parshat Emor is

compassion. The Torah is categorically

opposed to sadism and cruelty. It recognizes

that there is a proper place for the aggressiveinstinct such as fighting wars against evil

tyrannies. However, we must seek to be in

control of our hostility and to cultivate

sympathy and kindness for all G-ds

creatures, including animals. Thus, the

parsha states that an animal cannot be

brought for a sacrifice until it is at least eight

days old. Then it says, you shall not

slaughter an ox or lamb together with its

offspring on the same day. At first glance

the insertion of this prohibition in this context

is puzzling. This law applies to any slaughter

of animals and not just to those designated

for sacrifices. Why did the Torah see fit to

incorporate it in the section dealing with the

Temple Service?

The Rambam explains that the reason we

are prohibited from killing the mother and its

offspring on the same day is that one should

be restrained and prevented from coming to

a point where we kill the child in the

presence of its mother. That is because the

pain of the animal under such circumstances

is very great. There is no difference between

the pain of man and the pain of other living

beings, since the love and tenderness of themother for her young ones is not produced by

reasoning, but by imagination, and this

faculty exists not only in man but in most

living beings. This idea is communicated to

us in the section dealing with sacrifices. We

should not think that engagement in Divine

service gives us a license to be insensitive or

trample on the rights of others. The most

important characteristic of the Korban is the

purity of heart of the one who brings it. In

making an offering to Hashem we implore

Him to be merciful and compassionately

forgive our sins. To be worthy of Divinemercy we must strive to develop that quality

and display it to all His creatures. That is why

we are commanded to refrain from afflicting

the mother animal precisely in the parsha

dealing with sacrifice. We thus affirm that it

is our duty to emulate Hashem whose

mercies are upon all of His creations.

Shabbat Shalom

His Mercies are Upon

All His Creations

Rabbi Reuven Mann

7/29/2019 VOL. XII NO. 12 APRIL 26, 2013

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LETTERS

Reader: I enjoy your website; it is inspiring

to read rational essays which attempt to

arrive at truth, rather than the more common

type these days which dont seem to go

anywhere in particular. My question is about

emotions: clearly, God gave them to us for a

purpose. However, if we are to approach His

wisdom entirely from a rational standpoint,

what are the proper role of emotions and

sentimentality in our lives and service of the

Divine Will?

Rabbi: I will answer your question, and willalso address another related question asked

by Tamara. She asked why God made people

so different from each other: We all have

the same emotions, but the degree of

variation in each person, along with his

personality and preferences, makes us so

different. Why did God want this to be?

The Talmud states that they once tied up

the instincts (Yetzer Hara) and this resulted in

chickens not laying eggs, and man not

moving to accomplish anything. Emotions

are needed to drive man and beast; bothrequire an energy source. This emotional

energy drives man, motivates him, and is

responsible in all its forms for mans accom-

plishments. This energy fuels our many

emotions. A Rabbi once explained Ecclesi-

astes 1:7 (the metaphor of a river flowing) as

referring to this energy source in each

person. This energy may be let loose, when

we do not restrain ourselves from any

desire, or they may be directed by our

intellect as to when and where we express,

indulge or restrain from emotional involve-

ment or gratification. King Solomon opened

his work Ecclesiastes with a description of

how man operates psychologically, so we

may appreciate his subsequent words

describing man, his downfalls, and his

correct lifestyle. I believe the Torah does the

same, using water again in Genesis.

A wise Rabbi once lectured on Ibn Ezra onEcclesiastes 7:3. There, Ibn Ezra describes

the three major components of man, and

how one may arrive at the life of wisdom. He

commences by describing mans three

major components of his mind; 1) the Nefesh

(base drives), 2) the Neshama (intelligence)

and 3) the Ruach (ego). Ibn Ezra then

explains how man can become perfected

and negotiate his varied natures towards

success:

It is known that when the base

drives (nefesh) of man are strength-ened, the intelligence (neshama)

becomes weak and has no power to

stand before it, for the body and all

instincts strengthen that nefesh.

Therefore, one who indulges in eating

and drinking will never become wise.

[But] when one joins the intelligence

with ones ego (ruach) one may

succeed over the nefesh, the base

drives. Then, the eyes of the

intelligence are opened a small

degree and one is enabled to

understand physical science.

However he cannot [yet] understand

the higher areas of wisdom due to the

power of the ego which strives for

power; and it is that ego which creates

anger. And after the intelligence reigns

over the base drives via the assistance

of the ego, the intelligence requires to

be immersed in wisdom, that it will

strengthen it, until the intelligence

succeeds over the ego, and the ego is

now subjugated to the intelligence.

This amazing Ibn Ezra means as follows: At

first, man enters the world as a child,

completely controlled by his instincts, as hismind is not yet available. As he grows, his

mind begins to stir, but the instincts have a

head start on the intelligence, and it is

impossible to conquer them alone. Man

requires teaming his intelligence with

another new, developing part of his mind: his

ego. Ones ego is a formidable adversary to

the base instincts, as one will seek ego

satisfaction over instinctual satisfaction at a

stage in his development. However, this ego

and drive for power and fame limits a person,

and causes him to become angry when he

does not get his way. This means if hisenergies are not solely devoted to study for

study itself, some of his energy still flows

towards the ego. What he must do is to fully

immerse himself in wisdom, and only then he

will begin to attach himself to ideas, with no

ulterior motive. This attachment possesses a

greater hold on him, as it is his mind that is

now engaged. The mind has the greatest

magnetism of all mans components, as God

designed man to be attached to wisdom over

all else.

God gave man his greatest strengths in the

realm of his intellect. But to arrive at thislevel of attachment to truth and wisdom, Ibn

Ezra teaches that man must encounter these

various stages, and address each stage as

outlined: man must overcome the first set of

drives he encounters, i.e., the base instincts,

by teaming his ego with intelligence. Then

man must immerse himself in wisdom, and

this will loosen the hold, which his ego has



LASHON HARA

Ibn Ezra on theHuman Condition

7/29/2019 VOL. XII NO. 12 APRIL 26, 2013

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LETTERS

on him. Man can arrive at a state where his

mind is attached to the good, more power-

fully than how strong his ego and base drives

were attached to their objects of passion.

Once at this final level, and even before,

Gods plan is that man harness his instincts

and use them in service of the Torah lifestyle.

Thus, King Solomon wrote in chapter three

of Ecclesiastes that there is a time to kill

and a time to heala time a time to cry and

a time to laugha time to love and a time tohate. Meaning, no feeling or attitude is

correct at all times, but must be guided.

What guides it? Our intellect. War may be

correct to remove killers, but killing innocent

people is not correct. Love is good for

creating societies, but wrong when used to

pity a murderer. Harnessing emotions for

Torahs goals can be expressed positively as

in loving your neighbor, lending money to the

poor, and negatively by speaking loshon

hora evil speech. In some cases we must

force ourselves to maintain more positive

feelings, as in helping a friend with a heavyburden. At the same time, we must

subjugate our natural feeling of resistance

to helping our enemy, and bear the yoke for

sake of the Torahs loftier goals, until we

appreciate why we should help an enemy in

certain cases.

Emotions, or the Yetzer Hara, are

comprised of numerous feelings that may be

categorized under larger headings. For

example, mans sense of self his ego

generates many sub-emotions: ego may

be the cause for his hating someone who

wronged HIM, as in, Who does he think he

is to do that to ME?! In this case, ones self

image caused him to get riled up, as stated

by Ibn Ezra above. Had he cared less about

another persons words, or little about his

popularity, he would have let those intended

insults pass with no affect on his demeanor.

But the fool who hears ridicule will seek toprotect his fragile ego, subsequently taking

revenge on the one who slandered him. He

also feels rejection, (the emotion that started

this process) another expression of his need

to maintain his desired self-image. In all

these cases, the primary faculty of ego is

responsible for all the trouble this poor

individual suffered. So from a single faculty

ego many emotions are heightened and

acted upon, or controlled. And although

praiseworthy, mere control is only one level.

There is yet a higher level of existence we

may achieve, where we are removed fromthe stress of controlling our emotions. That

level is when the emotion is minimized as far

as possible. How does this work?

What is the Torahs perspective on how to

handle insult? The Torah lifestyle is where

God always retains the focus. Man is most

happy when his essence is satisfied: when

his mind is engaged in perceiving new ideas

and he arrives at a new truth about how the

world operates, seeing new levels of

wisdom in creation. Thereby, the self

decreases in focus, and ultimately becomes

of little concern: The righteous eat to satisfy

their souls, Bread with salt he eats, I am

but dust and ashes. These Torah

sentiments display the true Torah perspec-

tive, where the self is maintained properly,

but not excessively, and where ones

self-image is accurate: man is but ashes

compared to God and creation. He does notlive as a monk, he is not morbid, but he

caters to his needs and desires guided by

the Torahs prescription. He strikes the

balance where all of his emotions are in

check, a middle ground as prescribed by

Maimonides. This middle ground is where

man is equidistant from both poles of a given

emotional spectrum: he is not greedy, and

not overly charitable; he is not callous, but

not overly empathetic. Being equidistant

was explained by a wise rabbi: the means by

which the intelligence is the least pulled by

the emotional poles. Imagine two magnets ateither side of a table. In order to maintain the

least pull they may exert over a steel ball

bearing, we place that ball bearing exactly in

the tables center. Neither magnet has any

more of a pull than the other, and the ball

bearing remains at the center; never

overpowered by either magnet. The

emotions work in an identical fashion.



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LETTERS

When man attains a correct perspective

of himself, and his emotions fall in line after

having studied reality and Torah, he does not

need to control himself from lashing out

when ridiculed, as the ridicule has no affect

at all on his demeanor. He realizes too, that

words do not alter reality! If he possesses

good values before the insult, the insult

cannot change that truth. God and His world

humble him, enough, not to be bothered by

the insult. Nor did the insult change reality.

God created our psyches, and knows best

how we should manage them so as to

achieve happiness and fulfillment. In this

example, man followed Gods Torah, and

found that what is prescribed by God, works

perfectly, that he lives a far better,

undisturbed life. Less matters stress him,

and thereby, he is even afforded greater

energy to pursue Gods wisdom.Now what about Tamaras question? Why

is each person designed so differently from

the next? Not only do we all possess these

various feelings, but also, every person

varies in his degree of emotional strength

(passion) and personality traits. One man

may be passionate about money, while

another is passionate about ideas and

wisdom, caring little for money. The

difference in these two people is explained

by the latter having developed his mind, and

discovering a new truth: wisdom offers a

real happiness, which far exceeds the joyimagined by the first man to result from

wealth. Both individuals have a large

quantity of energy (we all do) but they differ

in what they value and therefore place

their energies in different pursuits. I recall

asking a wise Rabbi why there are so few

Jews entering the Rabbinate today. Have

people changed? I asked. He responded,

No at all. But our society has placed higher

value on wealth than on wisdom. The same

numbers of great minds exist, but they

gravitate towards lesser pursuits. He

continued, The Ivan Boeskies of the worldcould have been great Rabbis, had they

realized that a life of wisdom is far greater

than a life of pursuing wealth. If all men and

women would be shown the truth, they

would all desire it equally. The difference in

what people follow has less to do with Gods

design, and more to do with mans

ignorance.

That explains the choices man makes

about his occupations. But why did God

make people so different than one another?

Why are some people delicate, others are

hard or stubborn; some people like working

with their hands, while others lack any such

ability? Why are some people leaders and

some people followers?

I recall an explanation, but not the source.

Peoples differences enable the worlds

continued function. Had all men and women

become doctors, but not one person became

a baker, shoemaker, farmer, Rabbi or a

builder, we would perish physically and

spiritually. God, in His wisdom, created each

person with different inclinations and

abilities. Some traits may even be learned,

while others are innate. This enables all

human needs to be addressed by those

suited for the job. Our differences enabledthe continued existence of mankind.

I hope this offers some glimpse into why

we possess emotions, and why God made us

all different.

Now, having gained this knowledge, it will

benefit us all if we start to examine

ourselves, make note of our individual

natures, see where we are failing, admit our

errors, and use the Torah as a guide to return

ourselves to a life of real happiness and

fulfillment. God created our psyches, and

knows best how we should manage them soas to achieve happiness and fulfillment. We

all possess the ability to examine life, just as

King Solomon did. He realized that a life of

wisdom far exceeds any other material

pursuit, or lifestyle. He was the wisest man

next to Moses.

Let us first study his work Ecclesiastes,

understanding his teachings, and then be led

by reason to alter our lifestyles to match

what is true, what is our purpose, and what

will offer real happiness.

LETTERS:

To respond or to submit yourletters, please write us at:

[email protected]


7/29/2019 VOL. XII NO. 12 APRIL 26, 2013

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something: I frequently have been insulted or hurt

or put down in some way. I feel inferior from this

interaction. So what do I do? I call up a friend and

get her to agree that the person who made me feel

inferior is wrong, and *I* am superior.This is basically a framework that I invented in my

own head. There are imaginary scales in my mind.

If I feel bad, I have to balance the scales by getting

a friend to agree with me that the person who made

me feel inferior is actually inferior, and I am

superior. In real life I have achieved nothing. I have

not addressed the conflict with the person. I have

not put things in perspective (maybe the other

person was having a bad day; sometimes I behave

like that, etc.). All I have done is spoken negatively

about someone to someone else, they have agreed

with me---and poof! I feel better. I have

constructed an artificial reality inside my own mindabout how people are evaluated. But it's not

enough to leave it in my own mind; I must get social

approval of this construct by getting a listener to

agree with me.

This has an uncanny resemblance to Av

Zara. A major aspect of idolatry is that it

manmade construct. Judaism's goal is for hum

to relate to the world as it actually IS, how Has

designed it.** Idolatry, on the other hand,

human invention that seeks to control destin

you don't want to get sick, or you want to m

money, you have to sacrifice to a deity. But

invented the deity? Humans.Lashon Hara does not accept the divine re

that a person is superior or inferior based on va

and deeds. Lashon Hara is based on the hu

contrivance that someone who insults ME

appointed me as inferior and the only way I ca

that is if other human beings appoint ME

superior and HIM as inferior. Idolatry is an atte

to bend reality to your wish. So is Lashon Hara

As a side note, Lashon Hara is a particu

insidious way of dealing with interpersonal con

Instead of dealing directly with the person

have conflict with, you feel bad about the inte

tion and then you call up a friend and comabout it. Lashon Hara prevents us from figuring

how to have healthier dynamics with people

elicit feelings of inferiority in us.

*Bereshis 2:7 says "He blew into his nose a l

soul and Man became a live spirit (nefesh cha

Onkelos translates the nefesh chaya as "a spea

spirit," meaning that Man was given the abili

speak. Rashi comments that animal and Man

both called nefesh chaya, but Man additionally

knowledge and speech.

**"Tamim tehiye im Hashem Elokecha (Dev18:13), you should be complete with Hashem

God," i.e. we should be okay with how Has

designed the world.

3 things a person is pun-ished for in this world and

has no world to come: idola-try, sexual immorality, and

murder. And lashon haracorresponds to all of them.

Why is lashon hara (evil speech) compared tothe three most severe sins? Humans are unique

creatures. Our speech is an expression of our

capacity for abstract thought, but it is also a tool for

our instincts.*There is an interesting psychological phenom-

enon called "sublimation." About.com says it is a

defense mechanism where we channel unwanted

feelings into more socially acceptable forms.

We have aggressive impulses and sexual

impulses. We don't act them out overtly. But they

are expressed in our speech. Much of our lashon

hara is a way of enjoying sexual scandals and a

way of hurting other people. Of course, we would

not actually engage in these violations. We are not

so base. However, this statement of Chazal is

urging us to see that the underlying impulses that

drive lashon hara are often sublimations of theseaggressive and sexual urges.

Idolatry is a particularly interesting case. By

observing when I speak lashon hara, I noticed

7/29/2019 VOL. XII NO. 12 APRIL 26, 2013

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dimmersDrywall Repairsholes repaired,spackled, and paintedShelvingfor closets, bedrooms,laundry rooms, playrooms

Moldingdoor trim, window trim,base/cove molding, chair rail molding

Recaulking/Regroutingtubs, show-ers, tiles, windows, doors

Download - VOL. XII NO. 12 — APRIL 26, 2013

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